Search - D: Fuse, D:Fuse :: People

Deft programming, and a great disc 1 make People shine

Richard Diaz | 03/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, let's give credit to D:Fuse for delivering three totally different mixes in the past three years, all imminently enjoyable. Psychotrance 2001 proved a superb trance anthem roundup, Progressive Mix 1.0 made a solid statement for darker grooves, and now People shows off his deft programming skills spread over two hours.Disc one's the corker, a lattice of intricately layered trance tunes, heavily focused on subtle melody and minor swells. Fever's "Distorted Horizon" is a slinky little number, Replicant spins your head with the synth swells of "The Conspiracy," and the lone vocal number "Never Need to Worry" drops at just the right moment to make hearts swoon. These low-key selections tightly merge for a deeply satisfying mix, an exclamation for the power of understated music.Disc two brings a welcome shift to uplifting, rhythmic dance more in line with what listeners to Perfecto sets would expect. The material here is a bit older, but captivating nonetheless. Paranoid Jack packs a happy hook and springy keyboard on "Good Luv," while "Echoes" shows a satisfying string breakdown and distinct vocals. Final kudos to the breakbeat dub of Blue Amazon "And Then the Rain Falls" and Circulation's delicate closer "Turquoise." disc 1: 5 stars disc 2: 4 stars"

Cowboy hat and all, D:Fuse is outstanding

Douglas A. Greenberg | Berkeley, CA USA | 03/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With this his fourth commercially released cd mix, Texas-based Dustin Fuslier, aka D:Fuse, has definitely arrived as one of the very finest progressive dj's working today. "People" is simply a magnificent release of skillfully mixed progressive tracks, and it's rendered all the better by the fact that it's a two-cd package, the latest in Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto Presents series. The current world of electronic dance music is characterized by a bewildering array of genres and subgenres. The music on these discs can best be categorized as "progressive," which means it's not house and not trance, but incorporates aspects of both, along with some elements of techno. These tracks on the whole are deep, beat-heavy, hypnotic, multilayered, and relatively free of both discernible "melodies" and vocals, save for occasional looped spoken samples. As is so frequently the case with two-cd sets, the first disc establishes a deep, dark-ish groove, whereas the second disc, representing the "peaking" portion of the dj's time at the decks, seems a bit more trancey, less dark, and a bit more open and airy overall. What's really remarkable here is that there is so much material that is fresh and new, with only a couple of tracks that will sound familiar even to the most ardent progressive-heads. Nearly all of the tracks are outstanding; however, worthy of particular mention from the first disc are Colours' "The Guitar Track" and the incredibly talented Chris Cowie's "Silver." Moda's "Deeper" succeeds in setting the second cd off to a powerhouse start. A little further along in the mix, D:Fuse presents a sample of his own production work in the form of the dark,driving "Technique," recently featured in Perfecto's "Underground Sounds of the United States" cd release. Other outstanding tracks include Mark James & Pee Wee Ferris' "The Boost" and the airy Ocean Wave (Kasey Taylor) remix of Blue Amazon's venerable progressive house classic, "And Then The Rain Falls."As the cd2 mix heads down the home stretch, Fuslier establishes the set's high-energy point by including a bit of melodic, big-synth trance. Scanners' loud and powerful "Prayer" blends seamlessly into Private Taste's more reflective "First," which brings the energy level down to where the set can be brought to a blissful conclusion via three minutes' worth of Circulation's delicately gorgeous "Turquoise" (hey, why not a bit more?) All in all, the man in the white cowboy hat takes his listeners on a remarkble sonic journey that's well worth the price of admission. The one thing about this package that seems a bit curious is its title, "People." The reason for the unusual name (unusual for this type of cd, anyway) is explained in the (extremely) fine print in the paper insert, i.e., that the set is dedicated to "victims and heroes" from last September 11. Overall, "People" rates five stars for disc one and four stars for disc two. Since this release represents the first outstanding progressive mix of 2002, I'm definitely going to round up for my final rating."

Mixed emotions

Lindsay Moffett | edmonton, alberta, canada | 06/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album is one that grows on you, at first you may not appreciate the slow melodic trance, and very weak vocal tracks. D:fuse can really impress or dissapoint you, depending on your taste in the trance genre. I have closely followed his progression into a much much cleaner mixer; and better track selection with each new album that D:fuse releases has put him on the map. The one fault of this album (and the only flaw in his ability), is that the vocal tracks that he chooses are not as strong and uplifting as I would like a trance DJ to play. Don't get me wrong here, this album rocks! D:fuse can blow the roof off any club in the world, but he can also just blow. I strongly suggest that you listen to this album before you purchase it. This is not for the average listener, you must be patient with this mix, and you must have a good ear for trance, or you will be dissapointed."